Da Pirates and a Jungle Expedition!

So...I totally think that regardless of whether you "do" Halloween or not, we need to have a fun dress-up day for kids where they get treats. I'll be out of town next weekend, but since we're not bound to celebrating Halloween as a holiday, I'm thinking I'd like to get dressed up and go to pumpkin patch or orchard and have some of Elliot's little friends over to play. I found this giraffe costume at Old Navy that looked like it was going to rock, but THEN Elliot discovered the "Pirates that Don't Do Anything." Evan found this awesome ship-book-thing at Tree of Life and Elliot LOVES it. So this last week, at least three of our nights were spent playing pirates with our pirate hats.
Then fall break started and so did our spontaneous fun and jungle expeditions. Enjoy the pictures...

 Pirate Elliot & His Guitar

 Mommy Pirate, Sedgewick and George

 Pirate Elliot is ignoring Pirate Mommy

 :)

 Fall Toddler Feet

 Playin on the Slides ("on with the story" - Elliot)

 I tried to take about a dozen pictures of us together in the woods, and this was honestly the best one...pretty sad, huh?

A very brave Elliot traveling through the "jungle" on an "expedition" (yes, he used both of those words)

After braving the first expedition, the jungle warrior celebrated his victory and boldly headed back in declaring "a jungle esspedtion adinn!"

I love this boy!

Freedom...

I haven't been posting lately, because I've been busy and have not been particularly inspired about much of anything. Fall is actually a pretty rough time of year for me, and while there are numerous blessings that come with it, I still have not been able to figure out how to connect with God, connect with people, and balance my life in a way that is healthy during this lovely autumn season. However, having gone through this several times before, I think I am starting to see the signs earlier and recognize that I need to focus on things and people outside of myself to truly remain "Alive, Radiant, & Free" during this time of year. 

I've been reading "God Came Near" by Max Lucado...and loving it! And I've also been drawn back to my passion for showing people the bright and permeating love of Christ that has been provided to us to set us free! In revisiting this topic, I have been encouraged as Jesus shows me anew the intimately personal yet infinitely boundless love that He has for me. I've also been realizing how much of this freedom stuff requires a paradoxical balance between the grace of God and my own personal responsibility.

"It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm then, and do not let yourself be burdened again by the yoke of slavery." 

Galatians 5:1 (NIV)

"Summing it all up, friends, I'd say you'll do best by filling your minds and meditating on things true, noble, reputable, authentic, compelling, gracious—the best, not the worst; the beautiful, not the ugly; things to praise, not things to curse. Put into practice what you learned from me, what you heard and saw and realized. Do that, and God, who makes everything work together, will work you into his most excellent harmonies."

Philippians 4:8-9 (The Message)

Here are some ways that I am trying to fill my mind and my hands and our home with excellent and freeing things.

One of my co-workers recently welcomed a new daughter-in-law into his life, and at the center of her work and passion is Freedom 424. I think she and I would really get along and I would love to see her branch out and bring some of her work to Indiana. I'm in the process of contacting her to see what we can do to help. Check out the video of her work...It's just a few minutes long, but I promise you will be inspired by what someone my age(ish) can accomplish with creativity, passion, and the Holy Spirit. Christine went to Thailand (among other places) and was overwhelmed by the bondage that young girls in the red light district faced there. After talking with her father, they realized that it would cost $24 to "buy" one of these girls for a night, in which they are able to share the love of Christ with them and give them opportunities to get out of their current situation. It is truly touching and something that I would like to get involved in.

Freedom 4/24 - Our Story

On a similar note, I'll be hosting a party at my house in November for Women at Risk International. You know those Pampered Chef, Mary Kay, Premier, etc. parties you can host at your house? Well, unlike those parties, the host does not get any special gifts or discounts. BUT...we get to have a good time and help women caught up in human trafficking around the world. WARInternational is Christian non-profit organization based in Michigan and has so many practical ways that you can help change the world from your living room available on their website. One of those ways is hosting a party in which you sell goods made all over the world by women who have been rescue from the sex slave trade or are at risk of entering into it. Check it out and let me know if you'd like to come!

http://warinternational.org/

Some Pictures

 Elliot gave me a flower!

 On a milk pail

 Riding a Steam Engine like Thomas

 :)

MY BOYS!!! I LOVE THEM!!!

"Somma dat"

So...This morning Elliot wakes up asking for Bob the Builder, belly buttons and bubbles. I have no idea what this all means and he is very frustrated that I am seemingly so dense. We watch Bob the Builder and he settles down quite a bit and enjoys cuddling on our couch (our new-to-us-leather-couch!!!). Life is good.
I ask him if he wants any breakfast. He says "no, I watch a show." Okay, I'm going to return some Naturally Free emails. I go in the kitchen. Five minutes later, Evan comes in and grabs some pumpkin candies off the counter (his purchase, not mine). I say, "what are you doing?" His response is, "Elliot wants one."
Oh really? The child has had no breakfast! We're fantastic parents, can't you tell? So we get Elliot some breakfast, he wants bananas, raisins, and IKEA biscuits. Sounds good to me!
Fast forward two hours....Evan has gone to work and Elliot are on our way home from the CSA, where we have just picked up our beautiful, organic, local vegetables and honey. We get in the car and I ask Elliot what he would like to do for lunch.

Elliot - I have somma dat!
Me - You have some of what?
Elliot - I have somma dat, pweez!
Me - Some of what?
Elliot - I have somma dat cannie cone!
Me - Where do you see candy corn?
Elliot - White dare! (pointing to the floor)
Me - Oh dear. No. I don't think so bub!
Elliot - Mommy, where da sheep go?
Me - I don't know. Where did they go, bub?

Two questions for you: 1) how in the world did candy corn get on the floor of my car? I don't buy candy corn. I suspect, this was a "daddy purchase," because it was suspiciously tucked in between the seats and spilling onto the floor. 2) Since when did car floor candy corn become an acceptable lunch? I was willing to take the kid to get McDonalds (which is disheartening enough), but really? He would prefer somma dat car floor candy corn. Great!
And so my confidence in my parenting skills wanes as I realize that I am not that different from my husband. I grab a piece of candy corn (from the package!) and hand it to Elliot. "Tank you Mommy. I loves you so much! You wondaful." he says.
And my reliance on God's grace to cover my flaws as a parent and a person grows greater each day!

Happy Birthday to Ev!

My husband turned 27 today! He's amazing, and I am so glad that he is here...you know, that he was born. :) What's crazy is to think that at this point I have known him for almost half of his life! What's even crazier is to think about how in 27 more years we will still be together and it will be really difficult to remember parts of life without each other. I am excited for that though.
Evan says that today was an "epic" birthday! :) I enjoyed it a lot too. First, he went to IHOP with Joe and Elliot while I went to a tea breakfast at my boss's garden (awesome!). Then we all headed down to pay a visit to Mama Gilmore, which didn't last too long before we headed off to our next stop --> Stillwater Float. The guys got to have a flotation therapy experience, while Elliot and I hit up Barnes & Noble and PetSmart. The flotation therapy is supposed to be excellent for people with chronic pain or stress and the guys said it was definitely very relaxing.
We then went to The Journey - a great prime rib, chinese, and sushi buffet on 96th Street. Even Elliot ate a great lunch there. After that, we set off for Fry's and got a couple goodies for the birthday boy there. And then we proceeded to head home in a torrential downpour!
Finally safe and sound in our home, we enjoyed a great time with pound cake, berries and custard and opened gifts with family. Evan and Joe wrapped up the day with a new Futurama episode and now my dear husband is assembling his new grill in our kitchen.
As I look around my home, I see a crayola keyboard, paper plates and plastic cups, birthday cards on the mantel, and books on the floor - the vestiges of a day very well spent!
Happy birthday, babe!

RAW Milk

Well, we're doing it! We just bought our herd share and received our first gallon and a half of raw milk yesterday. We joined a dairy farm in Decatur, IN....Pasture's Delights. The owner there took me on a tour of the farm. I got to meet the Ayrshire cows that I'm getting my milk from and walk through and by some of the fields where they graze. They have a great FAQs section on their website here and here's another site with some info. You can also find a ton of information just by searching for it.

A Tea Time Treat

I found a GREAT local treat! Carolee's Herb Farm is right outside Hartford City, just about fifteen minutes from my house. They have a huge lavender field and you can go and cut your own bunches of it. They have a beautiful little shop and butterfly and hummingbird gardens, as well as TONS of plants for sale. 

So I went on my birthday with Elliot and we cut some lavender. Then one of my favorite couples came over and had tea with us on yesterday and we were able to have some lemon lavender scones. You can find the recipe at Baking Obsession. I was able to replace about 1/2 cup of flour with whole grains and coconut milk kefir instead of buttermilk. The dough was pretty sticky in comparison to other scones I've made, but the finished product was delicious!

Thanks to everyone who made my birthday special, especially my husband and bubby!